Market Square and River Garden, Bad Salzdetfurth

This project celebrates nature and history, creating a special moment for the town. The old town centre of Bad Salzdetfurth, dominated by timber-framed houses, underwent two fundamental alterations which reconnect it with nature and transform it into a memorable place that embeds a sense of local identity. 

The reshaped market square, due to its calm uniformity, intentionally takes a back seat to the historic half-timbered buildings which accentuate the town’s history. The redesign results in a spacious, uniformly paved square, its simplicity generates an openness for freeform activity. The concept of a multifunctional ‘shared space’ is framed by a few, deliberately placed design elements. The benches bordering the site delineate the square while also providing optimal viewing angles. The street furniture, Salzdetfurth Timber-Frame Bench, was modelled on the typical local building style, alluding to the town history with the aim of keeping it alive. 

The river Lamme is easily accessible again at the spot where a bathing house once stood. This connection between town and river had been blocked by a wall in its more recent past. This is now a stairway that leads people down to the waters edge. Here too, the pre-existing situation is reimagined as a flowing water garden, with the stairs acting as an auditorium. At the end of the stairs by the water is the Lamme Garden, a small wetland biotope that stretches below the pedestrian bridge as a connecting element and also directs focus to the river. 

Project Data

Landscape Architecture: POLA
Project Location: Bad Salzdetfurth, Lower Saxony, Germany
Design year: 2017 – 2019
Year Built: 2021
Photographer: Hanns Joosten